AI Data & Products
Context tool forms that fetch real-time data from external APIs, and product recommendation carousels — dynamic content that appears during AI conversations.
Overview
During an AI conversation, the chatbot can go beyond its knowledge base by fetching live data from external systems and recommending products. This article covers the two dynamic content types visitors encounter: context tool forms (for real-time data) and product carousels (for recommendations).
Context Tool Forms
When the AI needs information from an external system to answer a visitor's question — like checking an order status, looking up an account, or querying a booking system — a context tool form appears in the chat.
What the Visitor Sees
A styled form bubble appears in the chat with:
- A title: "Please provide the following information:"
- One or more input fields with labels
- Required field indicators (asterisks) on mandatory fields
- Submit and Cancel buttons
- A close button (X) in the top corner
- Validation errors in red below fields if input is invalid
How It Works
AI triggers the form
The AI recognizes it needs external data to answer the visitor's question. The form appears automatically in the chat — the visitor didn't have to do anything to trigger it.
Visitor fills in the fields
The visitor provides the requested information. Some fields may already be pre-filled by the AI based on earlier conversation context (e.g., if the visitor already mentioned their email).
Data is submitted
The visitor clicks Submit. The form disappears and the external API is called with the provided data.
AI responds with the result
The API response is fed back to the AI, which generates a natural-language answer. The visitor sees the response stream in word by word, just like a regular AI reply.
Field Types
| Type | What Visitors See |
|---|---|
| Text | Standard text input field |
| Numeric | Number input with validation |
| Boolean | Two side-by-side buttons (e.g., "Yes" / "No") with customizable labels |
| Dropdown | Single-select menu with predefined options |
| Multi-select | Checkboxes for selecting multiple values |
Pre-filled Fields
The AI can automatically fill in fields using information from the conversation. For example, if a visitor already said "my email is [email protected]", the email field appears pre-populated.
Pre-filled values show in the input fields when the form opens. The visitor can review and edit them before submitting.
Auto-Submission
In some cases, the form skips the visitor entirely. If enough fields are pre-filled by the AI, the form can auto-submit without displaying — the visitor just sees the AI's answer appear as if it had the information all along.
There are four display modes that control this:
| Mode | When the Form is Skipped |
|---|---|
| Always show | Never — form always appears even if fully pre-filled |
| Auto (required only) | When all required fields are pre-filled |
| Auto (all fields) | When every field (required and optional) is pre-filled |
| Auto (any field) | When any field is pre-filled (all required fields must still be covered) |
When the API Fails
If the external API doesn't respond or returns an error, the visitor sees one of three outcomes:
- A custom message explaining the issue (e.g., "Sorry, I couldn't check your order status right now")
- An automatic handoff to a live agent
- The AI falls back to answering with whatever knowledge base context is available
The visitor doesn't see raw errors — the experience is always handled gracefully.
Product Carousels
When product feeds are connected, the AI can embed product recommendations directly into its responses. These appear as a horizontal scrollable carousel of product cards within the chat message.
What the Visitor Sees
Each product card displays:
- Product image — optimized thumbnail
- Title — product name (truncated if long)
- Description — single-line preview
- Price — if available
The carousel sits inline within the AI's message bubble. Visitors can swipe or drag horizontally to browse through the products.
Interaction
- Click a card to open the product page in a new tab
- Swipe/drag to scroll through products on mobile or desktop
- Product clicks are tracked in analytics so you can measure engagement
How It Differs from Context Tools
| Context Tool Forms | Product Carousels | |
|---|---|---|
| Requires visitor input | Yes — the visitor fills out a form | No — appears automatically |
| Fetches external data | Yes — calls an API with the form data | No — uses pre-loaded product feed data |
| Appears as | A form bubble with input fields | Product cards embedded in the AI message |
| Triggered by | AI needing real-time data | AI detecting product-related intent |